SALEM: Actor-politician Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, has announced support for an independent candidate in the Edappadi Assembly constituency.
TVK’s official nominee for the seat, Arun Kumar, had his nomination rejected by the Election Commission on technical grounds.
In a statement shared on X on Sunday, Vijay urged voters in Salem district to back K Premakumar, a former administrator of his fan club.
Referring to him as “our own brother”, Vijay said Premakumar, who is contesting on the “television box” symbol, should be seen as the party’s “candidate in spirit”.
The appeal carried a strong political message, with Vijay calling on supporters to secure a win that would serve as a “right lesson” to those who allegedly tried to suppress the party’s symbol through “crooked means”.
The announcement comes in the backdrop of the earlier rejection of TVK’s official candidate M Arunkumar’s nomination, reportedly for failing to meet the required number of proposers, while the nomination of the party’s substitute candidate was also rejected subsequently.
Following the rejection of nominations earlier, there had been considerable uncertainty among party cadres in the constituency regarding campaign strategy and the course of action to be adopted, with party sources indicating that workers were instead directed to assist TVK candidates in neighbouring constituencies instead of focusing on Edappadi.
At that time, West district secretary S Selvam had stated that while cadres were actively engaged in campaign work in nearby constituencies, no communication or directive had been issued on supporting any particular candidate in Edappadi, which had led to a lack of clarity among grassroots workers.
The latest announcement by the party leadership is now being seen as providing much-needed clarity and direction to the cadre ahead of polling.
The Edappadi constituency remains a key stronghold of Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the AIADMK general secretary, and is considered a Vanniyar-dominated region.